Method for packaging a product

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for packaging a product ( 10 ), in particular a cosmetic product, in a support ( 20 ) of flat overall shape through which a cavity ( 30 ) passes, which cavity opens onto a first face ( 21 ) of the support ( 20 ) via a first opening ( 31 ) and onto a second face ( 22 ) of the support ( 20 ), on the opposite side from the first, via a second opening ( 32 ), the said method consisting in:  
     a) closing ( 100 ) the first opening ( 31 ) by means of a removable capsule ( 40 ), which is to be removed prior to first use of the product with a view to accessing the product;  
     b) introducing ( 200 ) the product ( 10 ) into the cavity ( 30 ) via the second opening ( 32 );  
     c) closing ( 400 ) the second opening ( 32 ).

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for packaging a product, in particular a solid cosmetic product, in the form of a sample.

[0002] It is common to distribute cosmetic product samples in magazines, for example by associating them with an advertisement page. For packaging cosmetic products in sample form, use is made in particular of tubes or bottles with small dimensions. However, such packaging may be difficult to distribute in magazines for advertising purposes because of its size. Other packaging, for example sachets which contain liquid or cream products in particular, or alternatively tissues impregnated with liquid products, may be easier to insert into magazines. Nevertheless, it may be difficult for sachets to contain solid products, for example compacted powders.

[0003] Patent FR 2 740 013 describes packaging for a sample of cosmetic product in solid or paste form, which is intended to allow the sample to be distributed for advertising purposes by insertion into a publication. The packaging consists of a plate which has a central cavity into which a cup that contains the product sample is inserted. The cup is fixed by an adhesive sheet attached to one face of the plate. A capsule is placed on the other face of the plate in order to close the cavity containing the cup. Although it is in the form of a plate, such packaging is relatively thick owing to the presence of the cup.

[0004] Patent U.S. Pat. No. 2,061,139 also describes packaging for a cosmetic product sample in the form of a plate into which a cup containing the product is inserted. Here again, it is difficult to obtain packaging which is not very thick.

[0005] It is hence desirable to obviate the cup and to insert the product directly into the cavity. However, it is difficult to produce such packaging which allows the product to be held firmly in the cavity and in which the external surface of the product, namely the surface which is visible when the packaging is opened, is acceptable in aesthetic terms, that is to say in particular it has a fairly regular surface.

[0006] It is therefore one of the objects of the invention to provide a method for packaging a product, in particular a cosmetic product, in a support of flat overall shape having a cavity into which the product is directly inserted, obviating any additional means for containing the product.

[0007] It is, in particular, an object of the invention to provide such a method which makes it possible to obtain a packaged product that has a visible surface when the packaging is opened which is acceptable in aesthetic terms, and which in particular has a regular surface.

[0008] It is furthermore an object of the invention to provide such a method which enables the product to be held firmly in the cavity.

[0009] It is also an object of the invention to provide such a method which is inexpensive.

[0010] According to the invention, these objects are achieved by providing a method for packaging a product, in particular a cosmetic product, in a support of flat overall shape through which a cavity passes, which cavity opens onto a first face of the support via a first opening and onto a second face of the support, on the opposite side from the first, via a second opening, the said method consisting in:

[0011] a) removably closing the first opening by means of a removable capsule, which is to be removed prior to first use of the product with a view to accessing the product;

[0012] b) introducing the product into the cavity via the second opening;

[0013] c) closing the second opening.

[0014] Since the product is inserted into the cavity after having fixed the capsule which is used as the means for opening the packaging, the surface of the product which will be the external surface when the packaging is opened corresponds to the bottom of the cavity during filling. Since the bottom of the cavity is filled first, the product's external surface delimited by the said capsule is perfectly smooth and there is no risk of the product spilling out of the cavity on this side of the support.

[0015] Advantageously, the product is introduced into the cavity in powder form, then the said powder is compacted in the cavity before closing the second opening. No gap is hence possible between the product and the support, so that the product is held perfectly in the cavity and there is no risk of some of it escaping when the packaging is opened.

[0016] Advantageously, a quantity of product is introduced so as to at least fill the cavity, so that no movement of the product in the cavity is possible. The product is hence held perfectly in its packaging, in particular when it is being opened by removing the capsule.

[0017] When a quantity of product greater than the quantity which the cavity can contain is introduced, the excess product which has been introduced is advantageously removed so as to only fill the cavity. The internal face of the support hence remains perfectly flat and the thickness of the packaging is not increased. It is thus readily possible to close the second opening without any protuberance which impedes closure. Furthermore, a constant volume of product is obtained in each packaging of this type, which makes it possible in particular for a user to know the quantity of the product available to him or her when using further packaging of the same type.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the second opening is closed by means of an adhesive sheet which is fixed onto the second face of the support. This serves to form the bottom of the packaging, that is to say the opposite side from the opening of the packaging and therefore from the access to the product. Advantageously, the adhesive sheet is fixed by pressing it with a roller to as to make the product adhere at least in part to the adhesive sheet. This is also beneficial for holding the product firmly in the packaging, because the surface of the product facing the second opening is held in the support by adhering to the adhesive sheet. The adhesive sheet is, for example, formed by a thermoplastic material selected in particular from polyolefins or polyesters, which is covered with a permanent adhesive composition, that is to say one which is not intended to permit detachment of the adhesive sheet. The adhesive composition fixes the sheet on the support and adheres in such a way that it is difficult to remove it from the support. Advantageously, the label may be decorated beforehand so as to decorate the packaging, in addition to its closure function.

[0019] The capsule forming the means for opening the packaging is attached to the first face of the support by means of an adhesive so that it can be detached and reattached at least once. The user will hence be able to open the packaging and use the product a first time, re-close the packaging if he or she has not used all of the product, and remove the capsule again in order to access the product again.

[0020] Advantageously, the region of the capsule intended to be in contact with the product has no adhesive function, so as to avoid removing any product which might remain on the capsule when it is opened by the user. To this end, for example, the capsule is not coated with adhesive in this region. Alternatively, provision may be made to negate the function of the adhesive in this region by covering the adhesive with a varnish. A further alternative is for the film constituting the back support of the adhesive capsule to be left remaining in this region.

[0021] Also advantageously, the capsule has a gripping region making it possible to hold the capsule in order to detach it, at least in part, from the support. The gripping region is, for example, an extension of the capsule which, like the region of the capsule intended to be in contact with the product, has no adhesive function.

[0022] According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the capsule is made of a transparent material. The packaging which is obtained hence allows the user to see the packaged product. The capsule is, for example, a sheet of thermoplastic material, in particular polyester or polypropylene, covered with an adhesive of the semi-permanent type.

[0023] Apart from the provisions explained above, the invention consists of a certain number of other provisions which will be explained below, by way of non-limiting exemplary embodiments that are described with reference to the appended figures, in which:

[0024]FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the steps of the method according to the invention;

[0025]FIG. 2 represents packaging which is obtained by the method according to the invention.

[0026] The packaging method whose steps are illustrated in FIG. 1 is described, according to the example, for packaging a solid cosmetic product.

[0027] A rectangular support 20 of the credit-card format has, in its thickness, a cavity 30 which is intended to hold the product. It is clear that the support may have any other shape; it may for example be square, round, oval, etc. The support 20 has two flat and parallel surfaces 21 and 22, onto each of which the cavity 30 opens. The cavity 30 therefore has two openings 31, 32, respectively on each face 21 and 22 of the support. The support 20 has a small thickness of the order of one millimetre, for example between 0.5 and 2 mm. According to a particular example, the support has a thickness of 0.8 mm. The support is, for example, obtained by moulding or alternatively cut out. The cavity has a circular cross section, although it may also be square, rectangular, oval or of any other shape in cross section. The cavity is intended to hold a small quantity of product, for example 0.15 g.

[0028] A removable capsule 40 is fixed 100 onto one of the faces of the support—the upper face 21—so as to close one of the openings of the cavity, namely the one through which the user will be able to access the product. It is, for example, a glazed label of the polyester type which is attached to the upper face of the support. A transparent label will preferably be chosen so as to allow the user to see the product present in the packaging. The label is covered with a semi-permanent adhesive allowing it to be held firmly in contact with the face, so as to close the opening while being easy to remove from the face. Advantageously, an adhesive will be selected which allows reattachment of the label to the support at least once after first opening. The back support of the label has been kept during a particular cutting or trimming operation (double cut-out, for example) on two regions of the label 40. The back support is kept, on the one hand, in the region 42 which comes in contact with the product, so as to prevent the product from adhering to the label during opening and, on the other hand, in a gripping region 41 lying at the periphery of the label so as to form a tongue which is easy for the user to hold in order to remove the label from the support. The label has a smooth surface so that the upper surface of the product has a smooth appearance, that is to say the surface which is visible to the user when he or she opens the packaging. But it is clear that, if the intention is to obtain a visible surface of the product which has a different appearance, a label with an appropriate surface will then be chosen.

[0029] Secondly, the cosmetic product 10 is introduced 200 in powder form through the second opening 32, into the cavity 30 which is closed by the label 40 in the lower part. The powder which is introduced is then compacted 300 so as to form a pellet of product which is then held firmly in the packaging. The quantity of product which is introduced is preferably just sufficient to fill the cavity. When too large a quantity is introduced, the excess product is removed by suction after compacting. According to a variant, the product is introduced in liquid form.

[0030] Lastly, the second opening 32 is closed 400 using an adhesive film 50, by pressing the latter onto the lower face with the aid of a press roller 60 in order to expel the air and make the film adhere to the product. The adhesive film 50 hence forms the bottom of the packaging and contributes to holding the pellet in the cavity.

[0031] Packaging such as that represented in FIG. 2 is hence obtained, which can be opened using the label 40 that was fixed before filling. The user then has access to the surface of the product which corresponded to the bottom of the cavity during filling.

[0032] In the detailed description above, reference has been made to preferred embodiments of the invention. It is clear that modifications may be made to them without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed below. 

1. Method for packaging a product (10), in particular a cosmetic product, in a support (20) of flat overall shape through which a cavity (30) passes, which cavity opens onto a first face (21) of the support (20) via a first opening (31) and onto a second face (22) of the support (20), on the opposite side from the first, via a second opening (32), the said method consisting in: a) closing (100) the first opening (31) by means of a removable capsule (40), which is to be removed prior to first use of the product with a view to accessing the product; b) introducing (200) the product (10) into the cavity (30) via the second opening (32); c) closing (400) the second opening (32).
 2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the product (10) is introduced into the cavity (30) in powder form, then the said powder is compacted (300) in the cavity (30) before closing the second opening (32).
 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a quantity of product is introduced so as to at least fill the cavity (30).
 4. Method according to claim 3, characterised in that the excess product is removed so as to only fill the cavity (30).
 5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the second opening (32) is closed by means of an adhesive sheet (50) which is fixed onto the second face (22) of the support.
 6. Method according to claim 5, characterised in that the adhesive sheet (50) is fixed by pressing it with a roller (60) so as to make the product (10) adhere at least in part to the adhesive sheet (50).
 7. Method according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the adhesive sheet (50) is formed by a thermoplastic material, in particular a polyolefin or polyester.
 8. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the capsule (40) is attached to the first face (21) of the support (20) by means of an adhesive so that it can be detached and reattached at least once.
 9. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the capsule (40) has no adhesive function in the region (42) intended to face the first opening (21).
 10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the capsule (40) has a gripping region (41) making it possible to hold the capsule (40) in order to detach it, at least in part, from the support (20).
 11. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the capsule (40) is in part covered with a non-adhesive thermoplastic film on its adhesive face, in particular in region(s) (41) and/or (42).
 12. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the capsule (40) is made of a transparent material.
 13. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the capsule (40) is made of a thermoplastic material, in particular a polyester or polypropylene. 